The present invention relates to a cover for a printed matter which cover comprises front and back covers with outer surfaces and a spine joining them, the cover being attached to a book block in the printed matter by means of connecting means in the printed matter.
It is known from prior art to make both hard covers and paperback covers for printed matters. Nowadays so-called hard covers are formed by joining together by gluing, for example, different cover manufacturing materials, these materials being glued to each other at their surfaces. Covers manufactured in this way in a separate manufacturing process are attached to the flyleaf or the book block of the printed matter. The cover manufactured in this manner is rigid and hard, but the manufacture of the cover requires a laborious work process in which the different parts of the cover are shaped and attached to one another.
On the other hand, so-called paperback books have flexible paperboard covers. These covers are normally of the same size or smaller than the book block. Covers of this kind cannot, however, keep the printed matter in shape. Also, covers such as these get damaged easily, they get bent and their edges crack, for example.
Prior art further teaches combinations of these which attempt to imitate a hard cover with a flexible paperboard. These kinds of cover assemblies are disclosed in WO 95/34430, U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,029 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,541, for example. Covers such as these are, however, complicated in structure and require a rather great amount of material and separate production lines when manufactured.
Finally, prior art teaches different detachable covers that are inserted into a strong false cover in a book or into a cover of a paperback book. These kinds of covers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,630, for example. This kind of a cover also requires a separate production line and it is difficult to join it into the book or the book block. The detachable cover cannot stay in place properly but the book block tends to fall off from the cover.
The object of the present invention is to form a cover for a printed matter that is simple to manufacture and is flexible, soft and comfortable to handle. A further object of the invention is to form a cover that does not restrict the mutual format of the book block and the cover.
The present invention will obviate the disadvantages mentioned above and provide a cover for a printed matter that can be formed fast and advantageously.
This object is achieved in such a manner that the cover for the printed matter has the characteristics specified in the claims in accordance with the invention. More exactly, this product according to the invention is characterized in that the front and back covers comprise at their outer edges flaps separated by grooves, which flaps, when folded between the connecting means and the front and back covers essentially in the direction of their outer surface and joined together and/or to the connecting means, provide an air pocket in both front and back covers making the assembly of the cover rigid.
The invention is based on the idea that as each book block comprises false covers in both front and back surface of the block, or the flyleaves, they should be utilized more efficiently in the adhesion and forming of the covers. In this way an assembly is attained in which the book cover is formed only by joining together the book block according to the invention and the false covers or the flyleaves, that is, in the following, the so-called connecting means.
Considerable advantages are achieved by means of the invention. Thus by means of it the covers of the printed matter will be made soft, flexible and comfortable to handle by simple solutions in such a manner that the shape of the cover is also in its format independent of the book block.
As the cover block according to the invention is a kind of a semi-manufactured product that will obtain its final shape when arranged in connection with the book block, a considerable amount of material will be saved in manufacturing the cover. Considerable manufacturing costs are preserved by means of saved material and an easier adhesion of the cover block. As the cover block is preferably assembled only by folding, a considerable amount of glue will also be saved. On account of the reduced amount of glue and its uniform structure, the cover according to the invention can also be recycled efficiently without having to be detached and sorted out separately.
The thickness of the cover for the printed matter according to the invention and its appearance can be varied in a simple way by changing the shape or number of the groovings at the edges. This uncomplicated way of changing the thickness of the cover makes it easier to provide various pockets and compartments in the cover. The possibility to vary the thickness of the cover according to the invention also makes it easier to use different ways of surface profiling and surface printing or even surface piercing as an effect on the cover. On account of its assembly, the weight of the cover according to the invention will nonetheless remain at 10 to 50 per cent of the weight of the covers for printed matters at present. This method of manufacturing a lighter book will make transportation cheaper and handling of the book more comfortable.
When using the cover according to invention, the spine of the book is not glued to the spine of the book block as in paperback books, but when gluing is done, the spine between the cover and the false covers will be free, thus making it possible for it to bend freely when the book is opened. In this way, the book will remain open better and the spine of the book block or the spine of the cover will not break in use.
The processing of the cover block can easily be combined to the manufacturing process of the book block, which will prevent the cover from being handled separately. The printing and cutting of the cover and also its make-up and gluing take place preferably at the same time as the printing and the shaping of the book block.